The Purge

THE PURGE (15)

D: James DeMonaco

Universal/Platinum Dunes/Blumhouse/Why Not (Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller & Sebastien Lemercier)

US 2013

85 mins

Horror/Thriller

W: James DeMonaco

DP: Jacques Jouffret

Ed: Peter Gvodras

Mus: Nathan Whitehead

Ethan Hawke (James Sandin), Lena Headey (Mary Sandin), Adelaide Kane (Zoey Sandin), Max Burkholder (Charlie Sandin), Tony Oller (Henry), Edwin Hodge (Bloody Stranger), Rhys Wakefield (Polite Leader)

The Purge is an interesting idea which doesn't quite work as well as it could have, although, by modern horror standards, it certainly isn't a terrible film. 

Set in a dystopian future where unemployment and poverty in the United States are at record lows, much of which is due to The Purge, an annual event where murder is decriminalised for 12 hours during an evening.

James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) has used the event for his and his family's profit, selling home security systems and living in a secure mansion, their reasonably peaceful Purge Night becomes an ordeal for survival when a bloody stranger infiltrates their home, and a bloody mob gather outside and demand his release, or the whole family will become targets.

The plot does have a few holes, but the general premise is an incredibly interesting one, even though the film descends into a standard home invasion thriller halfway through, bringing with it all the usual tropes and cliches you'd expect.

A series of films followed.

5/10